Contest celebrates all things Jersey

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

by SUSAN MANN

The hunt is on for a fine looking Jersey cow that’s also a good producer.

Jersey Canada has launched a Canadian Jersey of the Year Award with entries due June 1. Organizers are expecting the competition to attract 15 to 20 entries. From there, six nominees will be selected and Jersey Canada members will get to vote online for the winner. Results will be revealed in the October/November issue of the Breeder magazine.

Russell Gammon, Jersey Canada executive secretary, says the award is for an “all round cow who would be a good producer with good Jersey solids levels. The Jersey is renowned as having the highest fat and protein.”

Judges will also be looking for an animal with a good physical appearance and good conformation. The nominated cow has to be born and bred in Canada but can be living in another country during her lifetime.

Gammon says it’s a lot like “looking for that best all-round student, who maybe doesn’t have the highest marks in any particular discipline but is good across the board.”

Jersey Canada decided to launch the annual competition as a way to showcase cows that define the goals of the Canadian Jersey population in its international and domestic marketing efforts. “In Canada we’ve always had this concept of balanced breeding and that’s what we’re trying to promote both internationally and domestically,” he says.

Organizers haven’t decided yet what the winner will get, Gammon says. They’re talking with award sponsors Peter and Michelle Stern of Maple Ridge Jerseys near Drumbo about what it should be. “We want the physical award to be distinctively Canadian,” Gammon says.

For a full list of rules, go to: www.jerseycanada.com . BF